


The Delta Star Intercept

by MrToddWilkins (orphan_account)



Series: The World of the Eternal Astronaut [1]
Category: Actor RPF, Soviet RPF, Space Explorers RPF, Sweet Valley High - Francine Pascal
Genre: F/M, Soviets, cystic fibrosis, space geekery, teen drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26568553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/MrToddWilkins
Summary: How Shuttle jocks, a technician, an arm operator, a tourist, a geek, a cosmonaut,and a teenage girl became American sweethearts and advanced the cause of space cooperation!
Series: The World of the Eternal Astronaut [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932364





	The Delta Star Intercept

_Wednesday,March 9,1988_

_12:35 pm_

  
The space shuttle _Columbia_ flew towards Kennedy Space Center like a phoenix returning from its heavenly home,trailing steam as it flew out of the dawn that was now some minutes behind it. The white mechanical bird,burnt black in several places by the fires of its return,banked left in a 180 degree turn,heading rapidly for the Kennedy runway that would welcome it home. The sky grew blue outside its windows as pilot Mark McKay, assisting commander Fred Harris, banked the orbiter in a tight roll heading east.

” _Columbia,_ Houston,you’re on energy and ground track,nominal performance”, called Capcom Kevin Thatcher from the blue,smoke-lit auditorium that was Mission Control in Houston. “No change to weather, winds are 1-3-0 at 8 knots gusting to 12,and nominal chute deploy. Over.”

”Okay,Houston” acknowledged Harriman, a 41 year old veteran of one previous mission. “No change to weather,winds 1-3-0 at 8 to 12,nominal chute deploy.” He turned to Mark. “Now’s your time to shine,kiddo.”

Flight engineer Joey Stanton fed McKay information as he banked the orbiter right over the KSC pads. They flew 15,000 feet above pad 39-A, from which they had left the Earth a week earlier on their mission to deploy a DoD satellite as _Columbia_ ’s return to flight after the _Challenger_ disaster just more than two years earlier. The sky was mostly clear,with only a few clouds in the west.

”Out of 12,000, Mark. Fly-“

”60 degrees right the localizer,I know.” McKay waggled the control stick a little to keep on the right side of the Patrick AFB localizer.


End file.
